Inked
by LaikaTheWolf
Summary: They never saw anyone who could challenge Sai into feeling. But she did it, that was her mission in the first place. SaixOc
1. Chapter 1

OCC: First story in a LONG time lol so bear with me. Also, I need a good name for this. any idea's?

I woke up that morning, shook out my fur and yawned, it was a few minutes before dawn, and I had a mission to do, I had someone to find. Trotting through the streets of Konoha with my nose close to the ground, I vaguely heard the voices from the people around me.

"Mommy!" A girl had exclaimed, "Look at the big doggy!"

"Look at the size of that dog!" A man whispered to his companion, "She's pretty, mostly black with a spot of white."

I flicked an ear and growled softly to myself, _I'm not a dog, I'm a wolf,_ _I'm not even that, I'm a human, using my Animal Transformation Jutsu._

Catching the scent I was looking for my ears pricked forward, I then raised my tail and chased after the scent. I followed the scent to a group of three teenagers, there was a blonde kid, dressed in orange, a pink haired girl, and a black haired boy that wore a shirt that exposed his stomach, and according to my nose; he was the one I was looking for.

Picking up speed I raced to the group and tackled my target, barking loudly as I licked his face, the other two teens watched in awe.

The boy pushed me off of him and reached for his tanto that was strapped to his back; he stared blankly at me, his black eyes searching. He was ready to attack.

I sat down and barked a laugh before shifting back into human, "Forgot my form already, Sai?" I asked now standing up on my own two legs, "I mean it HAS been almost three years since you saw me last, but I really didn't think you'd forget me." I pushed a strand of my black hair behind my ear and smiled wryly at him.

Sai looked at me with the same blank expression, "I haven't forgotten you, Laika." He said without a smile, "Why are you here?" He asked blinking his black eyes once.

I adjusted my ANBU uniform and grinned, "They let me go." I said brightly.

"Hey, Sai." The blonde kid called from behind Sai, "Who is this girl?"

Sai's eyes didn't look away from me as he answered, "Her name is Laika, Naruto, and she's an old acquaintance of mine."

I tossed my head and bared my teeth half way. "That's all I am now Sai? Is an acquaintance?"

Sai ignored my question, "What do you mean they let you go? ANBU doesn't let anyone go." He pulled into a fighting stance and looked expressionlessly at me. "Tell me now, Laika, or I will be forced to make you talk."

I scoffed. "Force me Sai? You couldn't force me to do anything." I pulled out my wakasashi and mirrored his stance. "I'm far stronger than you, and you know it." And it was true, even in the corps I was stronger than him when we sparred.

The pink haired girl leaned over to the one called Naruto. "Do you think we should stop them? People are starting to stare." Her eyes looked to the group of people starting to form around Sai and me.

Naruto shook his head and said. "Have you ever wanted to see Sai put into his place, Sakura?"

"Not particularly," Sakura replied sighing, "You're the only one who seems to have problems with him."

I glared at Sai shifting to my side so I could point at him with my blade, "Your eyes are black and empty." I growled so he only could hear, "Your deeds are just for showing how big and bright your fake smile glows."

Sai flashed his smile then. "I have no idea what you're talking about, dog." He said with no emotion.

I snarled at the word dog and charged at him. I hated being called a dog, I wasn't just some mutt of the streets. "You know EXACTLY what I'm talking about, all the years I've known you I can read you like a fucking book."

Before I could reach him a voice rang out, "What is going on here?"

I stopped in my tracks and looked at the source of the voice; a tall white haired shinobi was standing amongst the crowd. He was holding a book and he has his hands in his pockets. I winced slightly because I knew I was in trouble.

I lowered my weapon and saluted to the higher ranked shinobi. "Kakashi," I said putting away my weapon totally. "I was just getting ready to look for you."

Kakashi put away his book and folded his arms. "Before or after you got finished attacking this team?" He asked motioning to Sai who was backing up toward Naruto and Sakura.

I hung my head, "I'm sorry sir," I mumbled looking at my feet, "But I didn't start it," I looked up and glared at Sai who stared back at my, "He did, he said he was going to force me to tell him what my mission was, then he insulted me. So I attacked."

"Hmmmm," Kakashi mused, he then started to walk away, "Come with me." He said to my, reluctantly I he walked past Sai he said, "You too. Naruto, Sakura, they will meet up with you later."

The two nodded and disappeared, the group of people there to watch the fight started to disperse to go on with their day slightly disappointed.

I sighed as I followed Kakashi, I then looked over to Sai and growled, and Sai looked back at me and smiled. Putting my hands in my pockets I just walked on.

Kakashi led us to the Hokage Tower and took the two of us inside.

"This is your fault," I grumbled to Sai, "If you hadn't have insulted me we wouldn't be in this."

Sai didn't answer me; he kept his eyes straight forward, pointedly ignoring me.

Kakashi led us to a door and knocked twice before walking in. A woman was sitting at the desk tapping her fingers impatiently on the wood. "Yes?"

Kakashi pushed me and Sai forward, "These two were fighting in the street." He pointed at me first, "This one says she has a mission to do."

I glanced over at Sai then at Kakashi, "I never said that." I said softly placing my hands behind my back.

Kakashi smiled before answering, "You didn't have to."

The woman at the desk, that I assumed was the Hokage, tapped her fingers at a faster pace on the desk. "Kakashi," she said through her teeth, she was aggravated that she was disturbed because of some kids fighting, "You may go."

Kakashi nodded and disappeared from the room leaving me and Sai to deal with the Hokage.

We stood and waited for what the Hokage had to say for about twenty minutes. "What's your name and what is your mission?" She finally ordered looking at me..

"My name is Laika Mitchi, Lady Hokage," I said putting my emotions away my face dropping into a dead manner similar to Sai's, "And I'm not exactly on a mission, I was relieved from my post for reasons I rather not discuss in front of company of others." I blinked once before continuing, "But before I was relieved, I was given a side mission." I then motioned to Sai, "I was told I was to help him blend in more with society. Help him show emotions better."

The Hokage looked at Sai, "Do you know this girl?" She asked motioning to me with her hand.

Sai nodded, "Yes," he said smiling, "I trained with her while I was in the CORPS."

Tsunade thought another few minutes before answering, "Ok," she started, looking at me again, "For you to complete your mission, I'm assigning you to room with Sai."

I felt my eyes slightly widen, "My Lady!" I rushed; this wasn't the deal with my mission! "My mission doesn't call for that."

Sai nodded in agreement with me, "Yes, she doesn't need to do that."

Tsunade just smiled, "I know," she said sweetly before her voice turned hard, "maybe it'll teach you two to get along! Am I clear?"

"Yes Lady Hokage," Sai and I said at the same time.

"Good," Tsunade said smiling, "Now Sai, please wait outside the door, I need to talk to Laika about something."

Sai nodded and walked outside, and I looked back at the Hokage.

"Tell me about the reason why they let you go," the Hokage ordered softly.

It was a few minutes before I walked out of the Hokage's office; I looked at Sai and gave him a half smile. "You ready?" I asked shifting my backpack to my other shoulder.

Sai nodded and led the way down the stairs. "We're going to meet Naruto and Sakura at the ramen shop before we head back to the house." He stated looking over his shoulder.

I nodded but didn't say anything, as they made our way to the ramen shop my eyes wandered around the town. I watched as the kids ran around playing ninja and the town's people bartering in the market.

As we walked into the ramen shop, I noticed the two kids she I before; I followed Sai to them and sat down.

The shopkeeper smiled at me, "Anything for you miss?" he asked kindly.

I smiled back, "No thank you." I answered politely.

The shopkeeper nodded and walked away still smiling, I looked down at the table until Naruto asked me a question.

"How do you know Sai?" He asked with his mouth full of ramen.

I laughed, "I went to the Academy with him when I was a child." I liked this kid; he was someone I could get along with.

After about an hour talking with the group Sai decided to head back to his house, motioning to me and saying his goodbyes he walked out.

I smiled at Sakura and Naruto, said goodbye and followed Sai out of the building.

Walking into his apartment I looked around, there were paintings on the wall, and painting supplies stacked against the wall, there was an easel with a half finished painting in the middle of the room.

"I see you still like to paint," I stated reaching to touch one of the paintings. I always loved his paintings, they had feelings, even though he didn't. Feelings, but no names.

"Don't touch," Sai said calmly, he then motioned to the couch, "You can sleep here until I clean out the spare room." He walked into his bedroom and walked out with two pillows and a blanket. He placed them on the couch and walked into his room with a brief goodnight, shutting his door behind him.

Sighing I started to remove my belongings, I placed my tanto under the pillows, my wakasashi next to me on the couch and my katana on the floor within reach. I then took off my armor, leaving me only in my tank top and a pair of pants. I then laid down and proceeded to fall asleep.

The next morning I woke up to Sai standing over me. My first reaction was to reach for my tanto that was under my pillow. I pulled it out with lightning speed and held the blade to his throat.

"Calm down," Sai said quietly, "It's time to wake up." He slowly pushed my blade away from his neck and looked at me blankly.

I yawned and stretched after placing my tanto next to me, "What time is it?" I asked with another yawn.

"About 3:00am, give or take a minute."

I glared at Sai, "Are you serious?" I growled, I despised being woken up early and he knew that. "Why the HELL are we up this early?"

Sai shrugged and walked away.

I growled again and curled up, "I'm not going to get up anytime soon, so I'll see you later." I then pulled the blanket over my head and closed my eyes.

Sai walked back into the room and stood over me, "You either get up now, or I'll make you get up." He threatened calmly with the smile.

I growled from under the blanket and peeked out, "You know that fake smile it starting to really piss me off." Was all I said before I covered my face again.

The blanket was thrown off me, and I was dragged off the couch by my feel. I jumped up snarling, "What the hell!" I snapped. That was another thing I hated, I hated it when people touched my feet.

"I said it was time to wake up," Sai said calmly again, "We have things to do."

I started to reassemble my uniform, deciding that it was going to be pointless to argue, "What exactly do we have to do this early in the morning?" I asked reaching over the couch and picking up my tanto and strapping it to my back.

"Training for the most part," Sai replied watching my, "You know you don't have to wear that today." He stated motioning to my uniform.

I looked up at him, my green eyes flashing. "It's the only thing I have for the moment; I wasn't expecting to stay here." My eyes flashed again as I grinned, "You wouldn't have anything I could wear? That would suit me?"

Sai thought for a moment before walking into his room and then walked back out with a set of clothing for me.

I hung my head in defeat. "That was an insult," I said sighing, "I was basically asking you if you had any girl cloths. I was implying that you were gay."

Sai's stone face fluctuated a slight inch. "Oh." He replied before walking away. "Hurry up and get ready."

"Yes sir." I replied sarcastically rolling my eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

As soon as I was out the door I shifted into a wolf. I padded after Sai my tail wagging slowly behind me.

"Haven't you gotten sick of using that jutsu so much?" Sai asked me after a few minutes of walking.

I flicked an ear at him and kept walking.

"Laika." He said blankly, "I know you can talk, you've done it before."

Grumbling deep in my chest I answered, "It's comforting, and since it's still dark out," I stated with a low growl, "I can see a lot better."

Sai nodded and didn't say much of anything else until I said something, "Where is the rest of your team?" I asked stopping briefly to scratch behind my ear with my back paw.

Sai paused for a moment to wait for me before answering, "They won't be here until about 7." He replied coldly.

This made me trip on my front paws. "What?" I asked sternly, I felt the fur on my neck start to rise. "What do you mean they won't be here until 7? Why are we here 4 hours before they have to be?"

Sai gave me his fake smile before answering. "To make you miserable."

I snarled and turned to face him. "Are you serious?" I snapped, "What did I do to you?"

He just stared at me, "You showed up."

"That's not my fault." I snarled, "I was ordered here."

Sai folded his arms and stopped in his tracks, "I thought you said you were let go."

"I was." I snapped, "But I was also sent on a side mission while I was gone."

"Then tell me," Sai said almost sweetly, "Why did they let you go?"

I stared at him coldly, "Those reasons you don't need to know." I turned to walk away then.

"I don't believe you Laika," he said coolly, "I think you're lying."

I stopped and turned around slowly. "What did you say?" I asked snarling and baring my teeth.

Sai smiled and said, "I think you're a liar Laika." He turned away to continue walking towards the training ground.

But before he got even a foot away I attacked. Without a sound I lunged and leaped onto his back snarling. He wasn't expecting me to attack so when I hit him, my weight caused us to both fall over. I felt him grab me by the back of my neck and throw me against a tree.

I felt the wind knocked out of me, and it broke through my jutsu. I got up, now on two feet, and reached for my wakasashi. Sai was already attacking, he ran at me at full speed with his tanto raised. I ducked down and tackled his knees; I felt his legs give out as he fell onto my back, as soon as I felt most of his weight I stood up and flipped him over. With that flip I was already leaning back to cut him with my blade.

There was a splash of ink and my blade was stuck into the ground, and Sai was gone. I heard a movement behind me; I spun around and blocked his tanto with my arm guard. We stood at a deadlock for a few seconds before I kicked him away from me. He got up and pulled out a scroll and a pen. In reaction I pulled out my own scroll and cut my hand.

"Ninja Art: Great Beast Creation," Sai said scribbling on his scroll with his pen. Five lion like creatures make of ink came alive and leaped from the paper straight for me.

I threw my scroll onto the ground and slammed my cut hand onto it. "Summoning Jutsu: Five Wolf Pack." The ground around me began to glow and my summons began to emerge from it.

My summons attacked his creations. I walked through the fighting animals towards Sai, "Animal Transformation Jutsu." I snarled. I felt my body shift into my wolf form, and then I pounced, I pinned Sai to the ground to where he wasn't able to move at all, when he hit the ground his jutsu disappeared leaving my wolves to surround us. I hovered my jaws near his throat, I smelled his blood, and I heard his heart racing, even though there wasn't an emotion on his face.

"I told you I was stronger than you," I growled breathing heavily; the sun peaked over the Hokage monuments. Sighing I got off of him slowly, I licked the side of his face and I watched as he turned slightly red. I then walked off, my summons disappearing. "That was my training for the day." I said over my shoulder, I picked up my wakasashi with my teeth and went to explore a little bit.

Since the sun was just coming up I expected it to be about 5ish. There were few people on the streets at that time of the morning. I made my way along the river that cut across the village until I came to a small secluded spot near the edge of the village. It was work trying to get down there but I did, it was a small grassy area near the edge of the water; and near the water, there was a tree that provided just enough shade for a hot day.

I placed the wakasashi that was on the ground and broke my jutsu. When I was human again I picked up my weapon again and cleaned it in the river. It was covered in ink still and I hoped I didn't get it on my mouth from carrying it. I looked into the water and saw my face was clean. I then dried the wakasashi and strapped it back onto my back. I walked over to the tree and leaned against it and started to fall asleep again.

I woke up again about three hours later. The sound of people getting ready for the day had woken me. I climbed out from my secluded spot and headed back over to the training ground. I stopped by a fruit stand and picked up an apple even though I still didn't feel like eating.

Walking into the training grounds I saw Sakura and Sai sitting in the shade, and Naruto was training with two people, one looked like Kakashi and the other one I vaguely recognized.

"Hey," I greeted the two sitting down with a smile, Sakura smiled and said hello back, but Sai looked at me briefly and then looked away. I rolled my eyes and sat down next between them; in the process I made sure that I hit Sai in the head.

Sai grunted when I hit him, but he made no other acknowledgements to me other than that.

"Hmmmm," I mused taking a bite out of my apple, "Someone seems a little upset that I kicked his ass this morning." I looked over at Sai from the corner of my eye and saw him twitch faintly.

"I'm not upset." He replied coldly, he still didn't look at me, but kept his attention to Naruto's training and his drawing.

"Right," I said sarcastically, "And I'm not really a human, I'm a cat." I took another bite of my apple then cut it in half and gave the uneaten half to Sakura who took it with a smile.

"You're catty enough to be one," Sai mumbled quietly.

I half ignored him, I was starting to feel slightly sick, I shook off the feeling and replied, "I may be catty but it's all for a good cause."

Sakura noticed the look on my face when I started to feel sick.

"Are you feeling ok?" She asked concerned.

I smiled at her the best I could, "I'm feeling just fine." I lied.


	3. Chapter 3

After training Sai and I went shopping.

"You need more cloths." He said leading me through the village, "And I need to pick up some food for the house."

"Okay," I said following him. The village was busy this time of day; people shopping, kids playing and the occasional dog running around. The weather was starting to cool off, fall was near.

We walked into one of the clothing stores and Sai turned and looked at me. "Pick out a few things, and I'll get them for you, I'm assuming you don't have any money because you haven't really eaten anything since you've gotten here."

I rolled my eyes, "Me not eating is by my own choice, kind of." I said folding my arms and leaning against a nearby wall, "And I do have money, just not a lot."

Sai nodded and blinked, "Just hurry up and pick some things out. I don't want to be here all day."

Rolling my eyes again I pushed myself from the wall and started to browse through the selection of clothing. I tried on a few things and walked out wearing a pair of baggy pants and a tank top. I put my uniform into one of the bags after Sai had paid for everything.

Walking out of the store I smiled at him, "Thank you." I said sincerely, "You didn't have to do that you know."

"I know," he said abruptly, "And you're welcome."

I glared at him as we walked to the food stands, "You know I'm trying to be nice." I said putting my hands into my pocket. "You can't still be mad that I kicked your ass this morning."

"I'm not mad about that." He said with a smile. "I was never mad about that. I'm not mad at all."

"You're impossible sometimes." I muttered as he stopped to look at some vegetables.

"And you're annoying sometimes." He replied blankly picking a few out and paying for them.

"You could at least cooperate with me," I stated as we moved on to the next stall. "At least for my mission. Then I could get out of your life like you want me to."

He paused for a moment, his face more unreadable than usual. But he didn't say anything and continued looking through the meats now.

Sighing I looked up at the sky and wondered if I could even do this mission. He was beginning to seem impossible to change his mindset of no emotion. I also wondered why they had chosen me for this mission with…

"Is there anything you want?" Sai asked breaking me out of my thoughts.

"Huh?" I asked slightly startled, "Oh, no. Thanks anyways."

He nodded, "If that's what you want." He said as we started to walk again. "That's all we have to do for shopping today. I usually go shopping once a week." I nodded as he continued; "Laundry is twice a week." He motioned to the bags he was carrying, "We're going to drop this off at the house, put it away and figure what we're going to do for the rest of the day."

"Okay," I said putting the bags I was holding onto the ground. I then shifted into a wolf again. I picked up the bags with my teeth and trotted after Sai.

Sai looked at me and tilted his head, "Why?" He started to ask but he stopped realizing that I couldn't exactly answer with bags in my mouth.

When we got to the house Sai opened the door and walked in, I trotted in after him and dropped the bags in my mouth by where I slept.

When I finally had my mouth free Sai asked me, "Why do you use that jutsu so much?" He started to go into the kitchen and I followed him in there.

"I told you before," I said shifting back into human to help him put things away, "It's more comfortable for me." I took a few things from a bag and showed them to him asking where they went.

"In there," He said pointing to one of the cabinets, "But why though?" He continued placing some things into the refrigerator, "You hated using that jutsu when we were younger."

I handed him a few things that needed to go in the refrigerator. "I guess it's because I've used it so much in the corps I got used to it."

Sai nodded as we finished putting the groceries away, he then turned and looked at me. "I know what we can do." He said picking up the bags and throwing them away.

"What?" I asked following him as he walked out of the kitchen.

"Well," he started, "We can clean out that back bedroom so you have somewhere to sleep."

He led me to the room across from his, he opened the door and I gasped. There were boxes on top of boxes. There were paint cans piled into all the corners of the room.

"Oh my," I mumbled squeezing into the room, there was barely any room to move. "What is all this?" I asked motioning around the room.

"Old painting supplies," Sai replied with a slight smile, "I never had any other place to put them."

I tilted my head confused, "But if we clean it out where are you going to put everything?"

He shrugged, "A lot of it isn't any good anymore." He picked up one of the paint cans and opened it. "See? It's dried out."

"Oh." I said tapping the dry paint with my fingernail, the hard paint made a dull clicking noise.

He handed me the can, "Put this by the front door, then come back and I'll hand you a few more."

I nodded and did as I was told. About two hours later we were half way done, I sat down against the wall. Sai sat down next to me and yawned.

"This is taking longer than expected." He said leaning his head back against the wall.

"Should we recruit Naruto and Sakura to help?" I asked laughing lightly.

"Maybe…Later…" Sai mumbled before falling asleep. I laughed as his soft snores filled the room.

I also started to fall asleep, until Sai's head slumped onto my shoulder. Startled I jumped a little, but it didn't seem to bother him. He had a small smile on his face, a real one. Laughing again quietly then fell asleep too with the mental picture of me and him asleep against a tree when we were younger.

**OCC: Hey! I hope everyone liked this! Reviews are Greatly appreciated!**


	4. Chapter 4

My dream was vivid, I was standing before a dense forest and behind me were people I knew, classmates, friends and my former squad. They were watching me silently, waiting to see what I would do. I saw some new faces, Naruto and Sakura stood there watching me also.

The wind was blowing hard; it whipped my black hair around my face. I looked up at the sky, storm clouds were gathering above and the sound of thunder echoed on the background. I turned and took a step towards my friends and a roaring sound came from the forest. Turning back to look a black mist rushed from the trees and hit me in the stomach. Then the pain started.

I woke up screaming in pain, it felt as if someone took a hot iron and shoved it slowly through my abdomen. I clutched my stomach and leaned forward retching. Blood dripped from my mouth onto the floor.

Sai woke up with a start, a kunai ready in his hand. He then saw me and put the kunai away. He reached out for me to pull me into a sitting position.

"Don't touch me," I growled moving slightly away from him. I screamed again and fell to my side, the pain was starting to get unbearable, I have had attacks like that before, but this one was the worst. I felt the blood pooling around my head.

"What's going on?" Sai asked with a hint of panic in his voice, "What's wrong with you?" He was kneeling over me, his eyes wide, not knowing what to do. "Laika, answer me!"

"My bag," I gasped, "Get my bag and get the syringe." Sai ran out of the room to get the syringe. I started choking on my own blood then I coughed and spit onto the floor, but it didn't work, more blood came through my mouth and clotted in the back of my throat. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't inhale to cough. I felt myself slowly losing consciousness even though the pain still raged through my body.

I vaguely heard Sai rush back into the room, but I couldn't move, the pain now controlled everything. I barely felt it when he jabbed the needle into my leg. A few seconds passed and the pain faded, but I still couldn't breathe, I reached out for his leg and clutched it gaping like a fish. He rolled me over onto my back and pressed his mouth to mine, but instead of pushing air into my lungs he sucked the blood out from my airway.

He spit out a mouthful of blood and pressed his mouth back to mine and repeating the process. He did it until I gasped for breath and started sobbing. He sat me up so I could cough up the rest of the blood that choked me.

I clung to Sai sobbing and shaking; he didn't know what to do as I clutched the front of his shirt.

"Laika," He said quietly, "What happened?" He gently pried me way from him so he could look me in the eye.

I stared at him for a few moments before answering. "That was the reason I was defected from ANBU." I said quietly. I wiped the tears from my face; I could feel that it was covered in blood. "I need to take a shower," I mumbled attempting to stand up, I swayed and Sai caught me by the waist.

"That can wait," he said leading me into the bathroom anyways. He sat me down on the toilet and grabbed a washcloth from the cabinet; he wet the washcloth down with warm water and handed it to me.

"What is wrong with you?" He asked sitting on the floor across from me. He stared at me with a blank expression, but I saw some kind of emotion dance through his eyes.

"No one knows," I said wiping the tears and the blood from my cheek. "But it's tearing at my stomach, that's why I can't really eat much."

Sai stared at my for a moment before standing up and walking towards the door, "Take a shower," he said with his fake smile, "I should be back before you're done."

I nodded and he walked out of the bathroom shutting the door behind him. I heard the front door open and shut. I stood up and took off my cloths and threw them in the corner. I turned on the water, stepping in I watched as the blood turned the water a pinkish color.

After a moment or two I heard the front door open and close. Sai was back and it sounded like someone was with him.

"You better have a good reason for bringing me here Sai," The voice said angrily, from the sound of it, it had to be Sakura.

"There is," I heard Sai say, "Its Laika, she's sick."

"What do you mean sick?" Sakura asked with an aggravated tone, "If this is about some cold I'm going to kill you."

"It's not," Sai said quietly, "follow me."

There was a moment of silence before I heard, "Oh my god, what happened? There's blood everywhere." That's when I shut off the water and stepped out of the shower.

"Laika," Sai whispered, "We were sleeping and she woke up screaming, blood was pouring from her mouth. She told me to grab the syringe from her bag, I gave it to her and the screaming stopped, she seemed she was fine after that, just a little shaken."

I wrapped the towel around me and stared in the mirror, my black hair hung around my face and my green eyes stared intently back at me as I waited for what else they had to say.

"Where is she now?" Sakura asked worry heavy in her voice.

"In the shower," Sai replied, "She wanted to get all the blood off of her."

A soft knock on the door made me jump slightly, "Yes?" I asked in a rough voice.

"It's Sakura," the voice from the other side of the door said, "May I come in?"

"Yeah," I said softly, "I'm not dressed yet though."

The door opened and Sakura came in, "Don't worry," She said, "It's just me, now can you tell me what happened to you?"

I shrugged, "I don't know, I was on a mission one day, about two years ago, and it just started hurting."

"What hurts?"

"Everything, my stomach, lungs, head and sometimes my heart."

"What was the mission?"

I thought back to that fateful day, "I was out with my squad at the time," I started, "We were to investigate some strange sighting in the forest about forty miles from here. People near there started to see a strange dark mist that was forming there. About half way into the forest my squad was surrounded by this mist, it killed them instantly, then it came at me, it felt as if the wind was blowing through me, then the pain started." I shook my head, "I dragged myself out of the forest somehow, and made it back to the village."

Sakura looked at me perplexed, "Raise your arms above your head and hold your breath until I say."

I nodded and did as she asked as she reached towards me with her hands glowing green, her face showed confusion as she probed my stomach.

"It's like your body is attacking itself," She said as she pulled her hands away, "How often do you have these attacks?"

I exhaled and thought about it, "About every month or two," I replied, "The CORPS let me go because of the severity; the pain has been getting worse."

Sakura nodded, "Did they try to stop it?" She asked tilting her head," Surely they have medical personal there"

I nodded, "Yes, and the only thing they could do for it is give me a very high dose of pain killers, the remarkable thing about it they said is that it causes the destruction of my body, but it also repairs my body."

"Kind of like a parasite." Sakura mused. "When was the last time you ate a full meal?"

I thought for a moment. "About a week ago," I answered with a nod.

Sakura frowned at me, "That's why you're so thin," she said before getting up and poking her head out the door, "Sai!" She called, "put on some hot water and make some ramen!"

"Okay," He said walking past the door into the kitchen.

I looked at Sakura, "I can't eat." I said softly, "It makes me sick."

Sakura looked back at me, "You're going to try to eat anyways, it might make you feel sick, but it's good for your body."

I nodded too tired to argue, I looked at my cloths that were on the floor and grimaced, they were covered in blood.

"I'll go get your other cloths," Sakura stated opening the door and walking out, about a minute later she walked in and handed me some cloths then stepped back out again so I could dress.

After dressing I stepped out of the bathroom and walked slowly into the kitchen, Sakura was sitting at the table and Sai was leaning against the sink with an odd look on his face.

"Sai are you okay?" I asked softly, he looked like he was trying to figure out a complex puzzle within his own mind.

He looked up at me and nodded, "I just have an odd feeling, one I've never felt before."

I sat down next to Sakura, who smiled at me.

I smiled back before asking Sai, "When did this feeling start?"

"Right after you woke up screaming," He said looking at me frowning.

Sakura laughed and took a sip of her tea before answering, "It's called worry Sai," She said. "You're worried about Laika."

"Worry," Sai mused picking up the pot from the stove and pouring out some of the water. "It's not a feeling that I like," He said putting the noodles into a bowl and mixing the flavoring into it, he then placed the bowl in front of me and handed me a set of chop sticks.

I looked disdainfully at the ramen before taking the chopsticks and picking up a bit of ramen ad staring at it.

"Just eat it Laika," Sakura said watching me hesitate, "You need to eat something."

Sighing I took a bite of ramen and suppressed my gag reflex. I felt Sai's onyx eyes staring at me intently. I ate until the bowl was empty, I felt really nauseous but I was determined not to throw up.

"Good job Laika," Sakura said standing up and giving me a quick hug, "I need to be heading off now, I have things to do." She looked at Sai sternly, "Keep watch over her tonight, make sure she sleeps okay, if you need to, come get me again."

Sai nodded, "Thank you Sakura," He said softly, "Your services were appreciated greatly."

"Err, right." She said before walking towards the door, "Bye you two and Sai make sure she eats in the morning when you guys get up!"

"Yes Sakura," Sai said as she walked out the door, he then turned to me, "You will stay in my room tonight." He said helping me up.

I nodded still feeling queasy, I let him lead me to his room where I crawled into his bed and curled up into a ball.

"Did you clean up the blood?" I muttered as I felt him lay down next to me about six inches away.

"Yes," He said quietly.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled starting to fall asleep again.

"It's alright," He replied, "Just go to sleep Laika."

"Okay," I sighed closing my eyes and passing out.


End file.
